Despite prospects for a potentially severe winter storm in theNortheast and moderate screen firmness, the cash market generallyranged from flat to down about 20 cents Friday, as falling weekenddemand made an impact. Northern California numbers retreated fromThursday’s spike, but the Southern California border tacked on morethan $2.50 to its market-leading average.
Winter
Articles from Winter
March Sags into Expiry; Bulls Hold Out Hope for April
While winter does not officially conclude for another threeweeks, it was laid to rest yesterday in the gas pit at Nymex as theMarch contract filtered lower in a long liquidation sell-off duringits last hour of trading. The March contract expired at $4.998,down 13.3 cents on the session and more than $1.10 less than whereit was when it became prompt month back on Jan. 29.
Industry Tries to Cool Regulators’ Concerns
State regulators and consumer advocates expressed deep concernover gas prices yesterday at the winter committee meetings of theNational Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners inWashington, D.C. But industry officials expressed guarded optimismabout supply and pointed to recent price decreases and drillingefforts as evidence the situation is improving.
Terra Cuts Purchases, Idles Plants
With winter setting in for the long haul, two indicators have become a constant. Natural gas prices continue to stay pegged in the upper echelon, and fertilizer producing companies continue to scale back their natural gas-intensive process of producing items such as ammonia and methanol.
Terra Passes on January Gas, Idles Plants
With winter setting in for the long haul, two indicators havebecome a constant. Natural gas prices continue to stay pegged inthe upper echelon, and fertilizer producing companies continue toscale back their natural gas-intensive process of producing itemssuch as ammonia and methanol.
Severe Cold, Forecasts of More, Cause Dollar-Plus Gains
Weekend winter storms in much of the Midcontinent/Midwestcombined with expectations of even worse to come this week over amuch wider area to push cash prices higher by well over a dollar atnearly all points. Only the PG&E citygate was a tad shy ofrealizing a three-digit advance.
CA Officials See Potential Gas Supply Problems
Some state officials already are dubbing the upcoming heatingseason as California’s “winter of discontent” as continued highwholesale natural gas prices are driving up consumer bills andstate regulators look at options for unbundling Southern CaliforniaGas Co.’s transmission and storage system.
Industry Brief
Asset sales within the energy industry continue to be the nameof the game as the winter heating season begins to set in. Two ofQuestar Corp.’s subsidiaries are the latest participants, as theyhave entered into agreements to sell working interests in oil andgas producing properties in Oklahoma and northern Texas as well asan Oklahoma gas-gathering system. Chesapeake Energy Corp. hasagreed to acquire the assets from Questar Exploration andProduction and Questar Gas Management for $27 million dollars. Thesale includes working interests in 290 properties with a currentcombined net production of about 4.3 MMcf/d and 180 b/d. Theagreement was effective on the first of this month, and thecompanies hope to close the deal by Dec. 31, 2000. The producingproperties do not have long-term strategic importance to Questar,said Gary Nordloh, president of Questar Exploration and Production.The asset sale will help improve operating efficiency and result inan immediate decrease in Questar’s amortization rate, he added.
Winter Weather Spurs New All-Time High
Snow and cold temperatures in the Great Lakes and the Northeastyesterday and some follow-through buying on Friday’s strength sentgas futures to a new all-time high of $6.360/MMBtu. December endedthe session up 14.9 cents to $6.249/MMBtu.
California Initiates Winter Alerts
California power end users probably thought they were justhaving another nightmare Monday when the California ISO announcedStage One and Stage Two Electric Emergencies. After all, it’sNovember, not August. However, August apparently left a lastingimpression on the state’s ailing power plants.